Gakuto Mukahi
Gakuto Mukahi '(向日岳人, ''Mukahi Gakuto) is a doubles player who is typically paired up with Oshitari Yūshi; however when facing Seigaku at nationals he paired with Hiyoshi. Like Eiji used to have, he has a stamina problem so he prefers quick matches in which he overwhelms he opponent with moon volleys. He is exceptionally talented at acrobatic play and his acrobatic skills even exceed Kikumaru Eiji. Appearance Mukahi has short dark red hair. He has a slight feminine appearance like a few other characters in the show. Personality Like most of Hyōtei he is quite arrogant and takes pride in his acrobatics. He has a respectful friendship with Oshitari, which leads him to train his stamina in order to keep from holding Oshitari back. Mukahi also yells at Hiyoshi to shut up, who called Oshitari naive after his singles match against Momoshiro during the National Quarterfinals. According to teammates, Mukahi cannot keep still. Mukahi has a habit of saying to his opponents, "There will always be someone above you," to taunt them, much like Ryoma's "Mada mada dane." History Two Years Prior To The Storyline Mukahi began Hyotei already being friends with Shishido Ryo. The two of them along wtih Akutagawa Jirou are present for Atobe Keigo's speech during the school assembly as he arrogantly announces he is the King of Hyotei. Mukahi spends the morning of the first day with Akutagawa and Shishido being excited to join the school's tennis club. They then find out that the arrogant Atobe is joining the tennis club with them much to Shishido's anger, Mukahi tells him to relax since Atobe's name had not been heard of in any Tokyo tournament for elementary schoolers. As afternoon comes and the time for club activity begins, Mukahi, Jiro and Shishido are shocked to find Atobe sitting in the club room at the center of the sofa declaring he is King to his senior. Mukahi calms Shishido down, and watches Atobe defeat each and every regular consecutively with none of them being able to take a game. Prefecturals Mukahi is first shown in the series along with his Hyotei teammates at the Street Tennis Tennis Courts as they taunt Momoshiro Takeshi and Tachibana Ann. Regionals He then appears as Oshitari Yushi's Doubles partner in Doubles 2 against Seigaku's Momoshiro Takeshi and Tezuka Kunimutsu. Due to Oshitari and Mukahi's carelessness, they allow Momoshiro and Kikumaru to stay in the game and unfortunately, since Mukahi is only good at short games, he eventually runs out of stamina. This causes Momoshiro and Kikumaru to suddenly fight back strongly and leave Oshitari Yushi to cover for Mukahi. They fall for Momoshiro's trickery which causes them to lose 6-4. Hyotei dramatically lose to Seigaku with 3 losses, 2 wins and a draw, meaning that Hyotei were ineligible to enter the National Tournament leaving the Hyotei team depressed. However, Luck falls on Hyotei as Tokyo wins the right to host that years Nationals Tournament meaning that the Tokyo are allowed to invite the next best team from that city which is Hyotei since they finished 5th in the Tokyo Tournament and were last years Tokyo Tournament winners. Nationals Hyotei then enter the National Tournament as underdogs and cruise straight throught to the Quarterfinals and meet Seigaku again annihalating last years Semifinalists Shishigaku along the way. In Doubles 2, Mukahi is paired up with Hiyoshi Wakashi to counter the 'Emerald Pair 'Kaidō Kaoru and Inui Sadaharu. Due to Inui's 'Data Tennis '''requiring a long match to be in full effect (since he takes time to gather the opponent's data before overpowering them) and Kaido is known for having an incredibe amount of stamina. Unfortunately, they fall for Kaido's trap who hits powerful returns to Hiyoshi and Mukahi which drains their stamina. Despite Hiyoshi telling Mukahi that something isnt right, Mukahi wants to continue. In the end, due to revealing of Inui's incredibly fast 'Waterfall serve and Kaido's Tornado Snake, they are defeated 7-5 despite being 5-2 ahead. Mukahi is later seen with the rest of his Hyotei teammates at the Nationals finals between Seigaku and Rikkai and are there during the award ceremony. U-17 Camp Mukahi obtaining his ball.jpg|Mukahi easily obtaining a ball. GakutoAcrob.png Mukahi and the rest of the losers.jpg After the Nationals, Mukahi and his Hyotei teammates Hiyoshi Wakashi, Oshitari Yushi, Atobe Keigo, Shishido Ryo, Akutagawa Jiro, Ootori Chōtarō and Kabaji Munehiro get invited to the Japan U-17 Camp along with several other middle schoolers. While there, he and Oshitari Yushi pair up since the announcer asks all middle schoolers to pair up. However, the announcer suddenly requests all middle schoolers to have a tie-break with the person with they paired with and the loser must leave the camp. Mukahi loses to Oshitari 0-7 in a tie-break game and is taken on a coach trip home. However the coach takes them to the mountains instead. They train in the mountains. While there, Mukahi learns to perform a low moonsault after going through the Drunken Coach's training. The middle schoolers in the mountains then return to the U-17 Camp as the 2nd Court. Making Mukahi currently a member of the 2nd Court. He watches the 1st doubles match between the Representatives and the 2nd stringer, playing close attention to Atobe and Ochi Tsukimitsu, a past Hyoutei captain that brought the team to the Nationals during his time. Tennis Record Playing Style and Techniques Acrobatic Play : Gakuto's flexible body allows him to reach seemingly far untouchable passing shots with a touch of flair that few can replicate. His astounding diving volleys and flips astonish the spectators and often gets grudging praise from his opponents. : Moon Sault Killer : His special move is Moon Sault. By using his technique the Moon Salute 'which requires Gakuto to jump extremely high into the air, he then performs a flip, and returns the ball at a difficult angle. 'Moon Salute : A technique where Gakuto leaps high up into the sky with his limbs streched out and his stomach facing the ground. He then performs a flip either somersault or moonsault to prepare for a shot to perform his technique Moon Sault Killer. Trivia * In the Another Story he is shown to have a sweet tooth. * In The Prince of Tennis Musical, Mukahi is portrayed by actors Aoyagi Ruito and by Fukuyama Seiji, in the live action by Tokia Emoto. * Gakuto came in 6th place in the fourth popularity poll * Mukahi and Shishido Ryo were friends before entering Hyotei Gakuen which is shown during Another Story. Category:Characters Category:Tennis Player Category:Hyotei Tennis Club Member Category:Middle Schooler Category:3rd Year Middle School Category:U-17 Camp Category:Left-Handed Category:Serve and Volley Category:Tokyo Players Category:Kanto Players Category:Doubles Specialists